Student voices: Alex
Alex Da Costa
I have been a physiotherapist for 13 years, spending 10 of those years in secondary care/ hospital based care. I am now working in the community with a keen interest in geriatric care, frailty and falls. The experience of working in a hospital environment has prepared me for working with the frail and often acutely unwell patient in the community. Time on medial wards, ortho-geriatric and elderly care have been particularly important, as well as the opportunity to understand the discharge planning process into the community. My role in the community currently is clearer as a result and takes two main forms – to support patients being discharged into the community from the hospital, and to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions through an integrated team approach (of which physiotherapy plays an important part).
Why did you apply for the Fellowship?
I was very keen to complete the geriatric care module and understand frailty and falls, in particular, to a greater level. I hope this will inevitably have an impact on my practice with the patient group with which I am most involved. I also hope to pioneer a multi-disciplinary falls group, intervention for the Borough.
How will this programme help you and your organisation?
It will improve patient care and demonstrate adherence to national guidelines for good practice in the care of the older person. It will also promote an innovative approach to care in this patient.
What are your future plans/aspirations?
To develop a multi-factorial intervention for falls in older people that is evidence-based and consistent with national guidelines.
July 2017